In 2008, significant changes were made to the way in which discrimination complaints are dealt with by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. To assess the effectiveness of these changes, the amendments called for a three year review.

The Pinto Report, authored by Andrew Pinto, has just been released, summarizing the author’s findings, advice and recommendations for further improvement. Some highlights of the recommendations include:

Increasing the established range of general damage awards

Reducing the inappropriate naming of personal respondents

Increasing the number of mediations being conducted

Increasing active involvement and intervention by the Commission

Simplifying the forms

Eliminating the requirement for parties to identify, in the initial stages, important documents and potential witnesses

Improving the manner in which large organizations are served with applications in order to help reduce delays

One of the biggest concerns for employers is the proposed increase to potential damage awards, as this would result in significantly higher exposure in a forum which still does not permit respondents to recover legal costs against unsuccessful applicants. In another vein, an increased involvement by the Human Rights Legal Support Centre may assist with weeding out meritless claims.

It remains to be seen, however, whether any or all of these changes will be adopted.